The present invention relates generally to armrests for chairs and more particularly, to an armrest assembly which is adjustable in a variety of aspects.
A wide variety of adjustable office chairs are presently available. In an attempt to adapt the chair to a particular user or task, various adjustment mechanisms have been provided. Such chairs may, for example, include vertically adjustable seat height mechanisms, swivel tilt mechanisms, and adjustable back height mechanisms. Additionally, such chairs may be provided with adjustable armrest assemblies. Many such chairs have been provided which have an adjustable height armrest, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,125 to Watson et al. Other such chairs have armrests which can be adjustable laterally to effect the spacing between the armrests, or armrests which can be rotated in towards the user or out away from the user. In most instances, such armrests are only adjustable in one of the particular aspects described above. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,267 to Peterson et al provides an adjustable armrest assembly wherein the armrest can be adjusted vertically and an arm pad portion of the armrest can be moved laterally. However, no known contemporary armrest assemblies can provide for all of the different aspects of movements described above in a single armrest assembly.
Therefore, a need exists for a multi-adjustable armrest assembly which provides for vertical height adjustment, lateral positioning, rotational positioning, and forwards and backwards positioning of the arm pad portion of the armrest assembly. Such a multi-adjustable armrest which provides positive adjustment in each of the aspects described can provide the widest possible variety of adjustable positions to accommodate users of different proportions and different tasks.